L-3 Communications Holdings was a leading decliner within the industrial goods sector, falling 98 cents (-1.3%) to $77.73 on average volume.

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

L-3 Communications Holdings ( LLL) pushed the Industrial Goods sector lower today making it today's featured Industrial Goods laggard. The sector as a whole closed the day down 0.1%. By the end of trading, L-3 Communications Holdings fell 98 cents (-1.3%) to $77.73 on average volume. Throughout the day, 593,335 shares of L-3 Communications Holdings exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 679,500 shares. The stock ranged in price between $77.50-$78.82 after having opened the day at $78.69 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $78.71. Other companies within the Industrial Goods sector that declined today were: 3D Systems Corporation ( DDD), down 13.9%, Edwards Group ( EVAC), down 11.5%, Goldfield ( GV), down 11.4%, and Stratasys ( SSYS), down 9.9%.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Jim Cramer's Protégé, Dave Peltier, only buys Stocks Under $10 that he thinks could potentially double. See what he's trading today with a 14-day FREE pass.

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. provides command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems; aircraft modernization and maintenance; and government services in the United States and internationally. L-3 Communications Holdings has a market cap of $7.41 billion and is part of the aerospace/defense industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 8.6, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 3% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there is one analyst that rates L-3 Communications Holdings a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and 10 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates L-3 Communications Holdings as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels, notable return on equity and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.